Designing for SEL
While these design goals sought to balance the various needs of a school, they also supported social-emotional learning (SEL), which focuses on fostering social and emotional skills within school curricula. SEL can take many forms, but it generally adheres to five central competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.
Learning Space Design
Generation Alpha is the class of digital natives born after 2010—currently learning, exploring, and growing in PK–12 environments. What makes them different than past generations of learners? Technology has been ingrained into them as part of their childhoods.
Campus Design
Interior design is often considered an art, but it’s also very much a science—especially when it comes to designing for neurodiverse populations.
Classroom Design
When designing early childhood learning environments, it’s important to consider research, development, and the input of experts and educators to determine what is important to help children thrive in these learning spaces. The NAEYC standards are a great foundation to guide the decisions you make in your learning space design in order to support students’ learning and development.
Building Blueprints
Architecture firm Perkins&Will recently saw the completion of its third elementary school for the Melissa Independent School District in the northeast part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Campus Design
High-performing, energy-efficient school facilities can serve a foundational role in uplifting students, staff and the greater community over the long term. The good news is that the solution for some facilities—depending on size, location and available resources—might be born out of the strategic implementation of a concept originating nearly 50 years ago: Passive House.
Podcast
Today's guest is Sue Ann Highland. Currently, she's the National Education Strategist for School Specialty, but previously, she served as an educator for more than 25 years as a school and district administrator, a curriculum director, teacher, and more. She's here to talk about how dynamic learning environments can help keep students active and engaged. We'll talk about the six instructional elements that support dynamic learning, the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic, the increased reliance of both students and teachers on the digital landscape, and the general impact of learning environments on a student's educational journey. This episode is sponsored by School Specialty.
Podcast
This episode’s guest is Benjamin Strain, Higher Education Design Leader for DLR Group. He's here to discuss an ongoing DLR research initiative called "The Evolution of Campus," which involves interviews and outreach to higher education institutions to help them navigate the pandemic, return to campus, and explore new spatial and design requirements to meet the needs of faculty and students. He reveals some common themes among all three rounds of research (so far) and addresses the question on everyone's mind: "What’s the future of the physical campus?"
Podcast
Interior design plays a fundamental role in not only making education spaces functional, but also in creating a calm, soothing environment for students and faculty alike. Aesthetics—from color selection to layout—are crucial in helping schools re-emerge from the pandemic as safe spaces that promote emotional and psychological well-being. This episode is sponsored by Mohawk Group.
Design Guidelines
- By Jonathan Matta
- 05/01/21
Podcast
Design-Build
The academic sector is the perfect use case for exploring how design-build is the best delivery system for mitigating risk, increasing the speed of delivery, lowering costs, and delivering great design – all through a simpler, more collaborative process.
Interior Design
In Bothell, Washington, Dykeman, Inc. worked with the Northshore School District to create a flexible, innovative learning center for 1,600 students centered on collaboration. They incorporated state-of-the-art interior single leaf sliding doors and hardware into eight "collaboration cubes" to pave the way for project-based and problem-based group learning, without compromising design.
Interiors
Creating an adaptable space is only one component of the agile classroom. What we teach and how we teach are just as important.
Construction Methods
In recent years, the International Building Code has mandated that all new construction for K–12 schools in most of the Midwest and South Central United States include a community storm shelter. This article will explain the requirements of storm shelter design and explore best practices for planning and construction.
- By Matthew H. Johnson, Andrea La Greca, Connor J. Bruns
- 09/01/19
Facilities (Campus Spaces)
Students need space and time for quiet study, reflection, mediation, and stillness. Here’s a look at what goes into the design of quiet spaces in order to make them both welcoming and effective.
Learning Spaces
A new Indianapolis elementary school includes state-of-art learning spaces as well as a huge indoor slide. Walnut Grove Elementary School, which opened earlier this month in the Center Grove Community School Corp., features innovative learning spaces designed to provide flexibility for instruction.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/21/19
Building Blueprints
Our culture has changed. Your community has changed. Has your library changed yet?
- By Todd Bushmaker
- 08/20/19
Outdoor Spaces
Enlisting students in your design plan and working alongside nature can result in outdoor spaces that are recreational, educational and engaging in ways you might not expect.
Are there similarities in the design of spaces for education and for senior living? Specific areas where the two intersect include creating spaces that foster lifelong learning, help people build communities and foster relationships, and combat the stigma of being either young or old.
- By Jami Mohlenkamp, David Schafer
- 07/29/19
A look at spaces that shape student-faculty interactions on campus, and ultimately contribute to student success.
- By Amy Hoffman, Shawn Gaither
- 07/16/19
Look inside for commentary from experts in the field who share their perspective on trends in education and the effect those changes will have on various learning environments.
- By Michael Fickes
- 07/01/19
- By Michael Fickes
- 07/01/19
Facilities (Campus Spaces)
Creative design can solve the conflict between having an open research lab with natural light and views where passersby can see and be excited about the research being done and safeguarding sensitive or proprietary information.
- By Jinhee Lee, Ken Mohr
- 07/01/19
Looking Forward
Life's one constant is change and College Planning & Management is here for it. From the expansion of big data to plant-forward dining options, schools are adapting with the times. Here's a look at what's happening now and into the future. Is your school ready for what's next?
Facilities (Campus Spaces)
Duke University has won awards for its campus landscape features and design. Careful planning and thoughtful implementation are just two keys to the university's success.
Trends
Look inside for commentary from experts in the field who share their perspective on trends in education and the effect those changes will have on various learning environments.
Student dining facilities are changing—and university officials need to be flexible and prepared.